On April 25, many Australians will gather together to mark Anzac Day.
Public commemorations started in 1915, as soon as news of the Gallipoli landing began to make its way to the families back home.
Bruce Scates from the Australian National University's school of history said the earliest commemorations were community initiatives, largely involving the women who had lost their male family members and loved ones.
"In Sydney, for example, they walked down to the wharves of Woolloomooloo … they would drape the gates at Woolloomooloo with flowers, floral tributes, messages, photographs and that sort of thing," Professor Scates said.
"It was very solemn."
Professor Scates said from the beginning, there had been a public debate about how Anzac Day was to be marked and what place it held in Australian society, with some WWI veterans refusing to take part while others embraced it as a day of reunion and honouring their lost comrades.
Opinions on Anzac Day and how we commemorate it are still mixed among veterans and former Australian Defence Force personnel.
'It's very important'
Bob Craven's family has a direct connection to the origin of Anzac Day, making it a very special time for him.
"My brother and I went to Gallipoli for the 100th anniversary in 2015," the 79-year-old veteran said.
"I found my uncle's headstone up at Lone Pine, where he died … the whole thing is very important to me."
Mr Craven served in the Royal Australian Air Force from 1961 to 1973. Today, he is a volunteer at the Palmerston RSL in the Northern Territory, visiting schools to make sure the next generation knows the significance of the day.
"I think it's very important for our population to remember what our forebears did," he said.
As a kid, Pete Rudland went to Anzac Day services to remember and honour his World War II veteran grandfather.
"I was always going to be a soldier because I was very proud of those sorts of beginnings," he said.
Mr Rudland spent 28 years in the military.
He said the more experiences he had in service, the more he felt connected with Anzac Day.
Mr Rudland is now an ambassador for the RSL.
He said while it was important to maintain the connection and tradition of the original reason for Anzac Day and honouring the sacrifices of generations past, it was also necessary to evolve to meet the needs of the new generations.
"We had over 50,000 people go to Afghanistan. We had a lot of people go to Iraq. We had over 50,000 go to Timor," Mr Rudland said.
"As those people get older and get to that demographic that starts to reflect on their careers, there will be changes — those people will have a further input.
"[Anzac Day] is not just about commemorating war. It's about coming together and creating strength through unity and diversity.
"Especially in today's world, where we are such a diverse society … diversity makes us strong."
What about the wars on Australian soil?
Benton Andrews, who served in the armed forces between 2001 and 2010, said while he felt a connection to Anzac Day when he was in the army, he now feels disconnected as a civilian.
"As a secular person, it has always made me uncomfortable having a Christian element present in a public event [as part of the service] due to Australia being a secular, multicultural society," he said.
"As I have learned more about Australian, and in particular Tasmanian colonial history, there seems to be a glaring omission as to the conflict that occurred between Indigenous and white settler people.
"So much focus is placed on the conflicts from WWI onwards and there is little to no acknowledgement or commemoration for all the people who suffered in the frontier conflicts of the 18th and 19th century."
Personal reflection
For some veterans, Anzac Day is more about personal reflection and contemplation than public services and events.
Emma Riley said attending Anzac Day services when she was in the navy brought home the significance of the day to her.
"There's a very deep sense of honouring the people who have gone before you and served in all sorts of capacities," she said.
Since returning to civilian life, she chooses to spend Anzac Day quietly at home.
"I just have quiet reflection. I'll light a candle. For me, it's a particularly sad day," she said.
"I did lose a friend when I was serving who had decided to take his own life.
"And it hasn't just been one friend, it's been several friends. That's been really hard for me."
For some veterans and former defence force personnel, Anzac Day can make them angry as they feel ignored and forgotten by society for the rest of the year.
"I think Anzac Day is a farce," said John*.
"It's a token day where most people just get drunk and remember the veterans of old.
"If the general Australian public actually cared about their, our veterans, then they would take a stance and boycott the day at least once.
"Stand in solidarity with our veterans [who boycott it] who have a significantly higher suicide rate than the average."
Struggle to find connection
Jeff Crust, a Vietnam veteran, said he and his comrades were made to feel "like lepers" when they returned from the war.
"You were afraid to say to anybody, 'I'm a Vietnam veteran', because of the way you were shunned," he said.
"I find [Anzac Day] a very distressing day, a very upsetting day … I can get quite angry, quite moody on the day, because I get so frustrated at the falsehood of people saying they're here to 'celebrate Anzac Day'.
"We don't celebrate Anzac Day, we commemorate Anzac Day."
Jason*, who served in the military in the late 1990s and early 2000s, said the day was a complicated one for him, due to some of the traditions associated with the day.
"I have a love/hate relationship with alcohol, I try to stay away. Traditionally it's been a bit of a beer swilling day for the army boys and girls," he said.
"Serving beers at 6 o'clock in the morning and the traditional gunfire breakfast and that sort of stuff.
"It's a bit disrespectful to yourself to wipe yourself out before the day's even over."
Professor Scates said the way we observe Anzac Day had changed a lot over time to try to incorporate commemorations for the wars and conflicts Australia had been involved in since WWI.
"It's changed a great deal and I expect it will change again," he said.
Professor Scates said COVID-19 restrictions brought the onus of commemorating our past back to the families and individuals and as we returned to larger public services, it could be a good time to consider how we want to mark the day going forward.
*Names changed to protect privacy
